Summer Learning Journey Week 2 - Day 1

DAY 1: Swimming with the Fish

Activity 1: Surfs Up! [4 points]

In New Zealand we have many beautiful beaches and stunning waterfalls. One of the most spectacular waterfalls is called Kitekite and it is located in Piha, a small village west of Auckland. Tourists and locals flock to Piha during the summer season to enjoy the waterfall, the local beach, and the great surf. Have you ever tried surfing? Although I have never surfed many of my friends have and they absolutely love it. In fact, it is their favourite summer activity! What is yours?

For this activity, please take a picture of yourself doing one of your favourite summer activities. It could be anything! Here is a picture of one of our team members (Laura) doing one of her favourite summer activities.

On your blog, post a picture of yourself doing one of your favourite summer activities. Below the picture tell us what the activity is and tell us why it is one of your favourites.

My best summer activity is playing a sport, Rugby. I've loved rugby ever since I started playing. I starting playing rugby at the age of 8 not knowing anything about it. The reason why the picture is me passing a ball is because, that was the only thing I knew about rugby (Passing a ball). Other than that I was totally clueless. After 1 year of playing rugby I was boss (well that's what I thought) and at the end of the season I got an award which was "Most Out Standing Player" of that year. That was the best you could get on that age.

Activity 2: The Great Taupo Cycle Challenge [4 points]

Every year approximately 7500 people arrive in Taupo, New Zealand to compete in a one-day cycling race around Lake Taupo. The race route is 160 km in length. Participants can choose to compete in the full race or the half-race (80 km). Let’s imagine that you were given a free ticket to compete in the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge next year and you were able to bring three people with you as your ‘support crew.’ Who would you bring with you?

If it was me, I would choose my son, Aronui, as one of my supporters because he’s really funny and energetic. I think that he would make sure that I had a great time and that I spent the entire day laughing and smiling. I would also choose my sister, Leigh, because she is very strong and fast. Thirdly, I would choose my co-leader, Hazel, because she is very organised and would make sure that we followed the trail and didn’t get lost!

For me I would chose:

1. My big brother Sam, because he is energetic and very fit. I reckon he could do 2 laps! apart from that, he is strong, fast, smart and also funny!

2. My friend Trent, He is amazing at sports and super fast and funny. He'd be great at cycling because he is fit and also has incredibly strong legs.

3. And thirdly I would pick my friend Alex because he is very smart and fit, he is small but his spirit is big and also he would keep us on track if anything goes wrong!

Activity 3: Something Smells Fishy…[10 points]

One of the longest and largest rivers in the world is called the Amazon River. It is located in South America and is approximately 6400 kilometres (kms) long. That is four times longer than the entire country of New Zealand. Wow!

Scientists believe that there are over 3000 different kinds of fish that live in the Amazon River. Now, that is a lot of fish! To learn more about fish, we went online and found some really cool facts about fish.

For this activity, we are going to provide you with five sentences about fish. Some of them are true and some are them are not. It is your job to read these ‘facts’, and decide whether they are true or false.

On your blog, write out each fact and in CAPITAL LETTERS beside the fact, write the word ‘TRUE’ if it is a true fact or ‘FALSE’ if it is not true.

True or False?

Fish Fact #1: The oldest known fish in the world is a 65 year old Australian lungfish. TRUE

Fish Fact #2: Sharks are the only fish that have eyelids. FALSE

Fish Fact #3: Starfish are a type of fish. FALSE

Fish Fact #4: Fish communicate with each other by making low-pitched sounds (moans, hisses, etc) TRUE

Fish Fact #5: Fish usually swim together in groups called ‘classes.’ FALSE

Summer Learning Journey Week 1 - Day 5

DAY 5: Blink and You’ll Miss It

Activity 1: Towering Timbers [4 points]

There is a long and rich history of logging in New Zealand. Logging involves cutting down trees. The people who cut them down are called loggers. The trees that they cut down are sold and used to build things (eg. houses), to make products (eg. paper), and to generate (create) heat and power. Over the past two centuries, many of the trees in New Zealand have been cut down by loggers.

Left: NZ native forest Right: A logged forest

Some people like logging because it creates jobs for the loggers and generates money for New Zealand while others are against (opposed to) logging. Many of those opposed are worried that logging will damage the environment. It might also force animals who live in trees (eg. owls) to find new homes.

What do you think about logging?

On your blog tell us whether you think logging should be allowed in New Zealand. Be sure to provide at least two reasons to support your argument.

I would go against loggers. Reason why is because they are cutting down trees which gives oxygen and also because trees are some home to animals! Without trees some animals will be homeless and have to live in the opens which is not safe for them. 

I think logging should not be allowed in New Zealand! There are 3,000,000,000,000 trees in New Zealand study says, and about 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are cut down each year! If this goes on, there soon will be not as much trees in New Zealand and therefore there wouldn't be as much oxygen for humans and animals to breath! 

Activity 2: Living on the Edge [4 points]

While it can get quite cold in New Zealand, it rarely drops below freezing (00C). Most of the time the temperature in New Zealand is pretty mild. This is not the case in the tundra. The tundra is an area of land (biome) that is cold, dry and completely treeless. Did you know that the average temperature in the tundra is -280C?

Over the past few years, however, the temperature in the tundra has been rising and the weather has been changing. Let’s imagine that your teacher decides to take you on a class trip to the tundra before the weather changes too much and you aren’t able to go.

On your blog, write a letter to your best friend or a family member telling them about your trip to the tundra. To earn full points your letter must have a greeting (eg. Dear…) followed by 5 – 6 sentences of information about what your experience.

Dear Brother,
I've recently went on a field trip with my class. It was an amazing and a fantastic experience and I would like to tell you a little bit about it. While we were at Tundra I saw a lot of  mountains, like a lot of them. Every direction I'd look there would be a mountain. Other than that, I got the chance to met some animals and even some endangered animals. We got the chance to pet it, but not hold it since, you know its endangered. The weather did change a lot but we didn't mind. I also encountered a snowy owl. For some reason it just landed on my head and all my class mate's started laughing. I too found it funny but it had to go since my teacher was afraid of it. Apart from that, it was a amazing experience and I would love to visit it again one day.

To my awesome: brother!!

  

Activity 3: Going, going….gone [10 points]

Over the years, scientists have made some surprising discoveries. One of

these discoveries is that we have entire cities (e.g. Jakarta, Indonesia and Venice, Italy) that are slowly sinking into the ocean. Scientists believe that, one day, the cities will disappear completely under the water. Yikes!

Some of the residents (people living in the cities) have taken pictures of their neighbourhoods and written stories about their lives in order to make a record of what ‘life was like’ in their city before it disappeared.

Let’s imagine that New Zealand was going to sink to the bottom of the ocean next week (Eek!). Before it sinks you are asked to write a blog post telling people what life was like in New Zealand in 2018.

On your blog, post a description of life in New Zealand in 2018. Please remember that the people who read your post will have never been to New Zealand or even seen a picture so it is your job to ‘paint a picture’ of New Zealand using your words. You can also post pictures, if you wish. Be sure to fully attribute the pictures.

New Zealand is a small, amazing and a fascinating country. New Zealand has many city but the most popular one is Auckland, all though Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. Auckland has 1/4 of the population of New Zealand. In New Zealand there are lot's of amusement parks and also incredible place's for tourist to visit! My favourite place I like to go most of the time is to the beach. In Auckland City (Which is the picture below) there are many buildings, boats and especially people. In the city there is some beach's around there, fast food areas, cafe shop, clothes stores, anything you could imagine. Other than that, New Zealand is a Beautiful Country.

Summer Learning Journey Week 1 - Day 4

DAY 4: More than Meets the Eye

Activity 1: Scaling New Heights [4 points]

Aotearoa New Zealand is a country of mountains and valleys, dense forests, and sparkling oceans. At the centre of the South Island sits the tallest mountain in the country, Aoraki Mt Cook. It is the place where Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to reach the top (summit) of Mt Everest, learned how to climb mountains. It was pretty difficult for him, at first, but Sir Edmund Hillary did not give up and, in 1953, he achieved this dream of climbing Mt Everest. His face can now be found on the New Zealand $5 note!

Let’s imagine that you met Sir Edmund Hillary in real life and were able to interview him.

On your blog, post five questions that you would like to ask Sir Edmund Hillary about his life.

1. Apart from climbing mountains and exploring new places, what else do you like to do in your free time?

2. Who inspired you to be a climber?

3. While you were climbing Mt Everest, was there any time you would think that you can't make it?

4. Did you climb by yourself?

5. how many days and nights did it take you to climb up Mt Everest and back?

Activity 2: Pancakes and Maple Syrup? [4 points]

Aotearoa New Zealand is home to many spectacular sights and natural wonders. One of these is the Punakaiki Rocks and Blowholes located on the West Coast of the South Island. The Punakaiki rocks attract tourists from all over the world who are keen to see these amazing rock formations. Many people think that they look like pancakes stacked on top of one another. Pancakes are one of my favourite foods! They are delicious and pretty easy to make.

For this activity you are asked to choose one of your favourite foods. On your blog, write the name of your favourite food and then tell us how to make it. You may need to ask a family member, friend or Google (!) for help, if you do not normally make this food for yourself.

One of my favourite food is butter chicken! here's how you make it! (I googled it)

• Step 1
  Heat a wok over medium-high heat. Spray with oil. Cook onion, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until golden. Add the tandoori paste and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until aromatic.

• Step 2
  Add the chicken and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes or until browned. Stir in tomato and stock. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
• Step 3
  Add the cashew and simmer for 2-3 minutes or until sauce thickens. Stir in the yogurt and spinach. Divide the rice and chicken mixture among serving plates. Top with cucumber and coriander. Serve with pappadums.

The ingredients:

• Olive oil spray
• 1 large brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons tandoori paste
• 600g chicken breast fillets, excess fat trimmed, cut into 2cm pieces
• 400g can no-added-salt chopped tomatoes
• 125ml (1/2 cup) Massel chicken style liquid stock
• 55g (1/3 cup) cashews, finely chopped
• 70g (1/4 cup) natural yogurt
• 75g baby spinach leaves
• 2 cups steamed Basmati rice
• Chopped Lebanese cucumber, to serve
• Fresh coriander leaves, to serve
• Pappadums, to serve

(I copied and paste it! I'm don't have the patients to write all of this!)

Activity 3: Salt and Pepper [5 + 5 possible bonus points]

Deep in the heart of Bolivia (a country in South America) lies a natural wonder unlike anything else. It is a massive area of salt, over 10 000 km2 large, that is referred to as the Uyuni Salt Flats.

Tourists who visit the flats often stay in hotels made completely out of salt (salt hotels). This is not the only unique hotel that you will find around the world. In fact, you can stay in hotels made entirely of ice (ice hotels) or glass (glass hotel). Let’s imagine that you were given enough money to build your very own hotel.

On your blog tell us where you would build your hotel and what you would use to build it. For an extra five points, use Google Drawings to design one room in your hotel. You can also use a paper and pencil to draw your room, take a picture of the drawing, and post it on your blog.

I would build my hotel in a desert! because if anyone is lost or wanting to rest they could just come to the nearest hotel, which obviously is mine! because its in the middle of nowhere!

Summer Learning Journey Week 1 - Day 3

DAY 3: Awesome Animals

Activity 1: Fantastic Beasts [4 points]

In New Zealand we have many unusual animals. One of the most unusual is the kiwi bird - a bird that does not have wings and can not fly. Pretty strange, eh?! J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, has recently written a new book about strange or unusual animals called ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.’

For this activity, please watch this cool book trailer. Year 7 and Year 8 students in South Auckland, New Zealand helped to make it. Once you have watched the video, use your imagination and create your very own beast. What does your beast look, smell, feel, and sound like?

On your blog, post a description of your beast. Use interesting adjectives (describing words) to tell us about your beast.

 My beast is a strong, fearless, fast, big, nice, friendly, unseen literally unseen creature!

His name is Ethereal! He fights for whats right, and he love's to see people in a happy mood. If there is any danger, the citizens will just call his name and he will be there is just a matter of seconds. In other words he is invisible!

Activity 2: The Secretive Skink [4 points]

We have a number of small lizards (geckos and skinks) living in New Zealand. One of the least common is the Chevron Skink. According to the Department of Conservation, Chevron Skinks live mostly on two islands - Great Barrier Island and Little Barrier Island. These islands are ‘animal reserves.’ Very few people, other than staff working for the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC), are allowed to live there. The DOC staff are called ‘Rangers.’ Their job is to protect the wildlife (animals and plants) living on the island.

Would you like to be a DOC ranger and live with the animals on Great Barrier Island?

On your blog list three pros (good things) and three cons (bad things) about working as a DOC ranger. At the bottom of your post, tell us whether you would like to be a DOC Ranger or not.

Pros:
1. Fight for the endangered animals!
2. Raising them and watching them grow!
3. Learn new things about animals!

Cons:
1. Some will run around making your job harder!
2. They might have a disease!
3. They can bite you!

I would like to be a DOC Ranger, so I can protect the animals and also keeping they're habitat clean, safe and tidy! I also wanted to learn new things about animals that I don't already know! 

Activity 3: The WWF: World Wildlife Fund [10 points]

In 1961, a number of people came together to start an organisation called the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The main goal of this organisation was/is to protect life on earth. Hundreds of WWF staff work in countries all over the world trying to protect our planet and the animals who live here. To learn more about their amazing work, click on one of the two video links below.

Clip #1: Freshwater Seals

Clip #2: Tigers

Once you have watched the video, go to your blog and, using full sentences, tell us:


1) The name of the animal the WWF is working to save?
The Seals and also the cubs of the seals!

2) What the WWF is doing to help the animal?
They are building snow banks for the seals to give birth to their cubs! If seals give birth in the open, they don't have any protection against predators, cold and human disturbance! Which also means there cubs will die.

3) What, if any, success they have had protecting the animal?
Just protecting the wildlife! When your older you can look back and say "hey I saved many seals life" It will feel great and amazing thinking of what you've done. Saving animals!